Crumbling Down
by Chemical 30
Summary: It was supposed to be an easy job. In and out, a smash and grab. That is until it all came crumbling down...literally. One-Shot!


It was supposed to be an easy job. In and out, a smash and grab. Everything had been going as plan, they had made it into abandoned ruins no problem. They had found the ancient artifact that the art dealer from Xandar had paid them to get. Personally Peter thought the thing was ugly, it looked like a small stone man that had seen better days, and those better days happened to be over two hundred years ago. However, Peter wasn't the buyer, he and the other Guardians were simply paid to retrieve the artifact and return it to Xandar. An easy three hundred thousand units. Well, at least it had been an easy three hundred thousand units. That is until one of Rocket's many small bombs went off unexpectedly, causing the entire ruins to collapse. Rocket was fine, he had realized the bomb was about to go off and threw it away from himself.

However, Peter was a different story entirely. When the ruins went down, he had been bringing up the tail of his team, and ultimately had been separated from the rest of them by a falling wall of rock. He had managed to dodge the falling debris, well most of it. His left leg, from the middle of his calf down, was crushed underneath the rocks. Peter had tried shifting and pulling his leg free, but the excruciating pain that any movement caused, made Peter realize that he was in deep shit. There was no dance-off, there was no talking his way out, he was screwed, one-hundred percent fucked. He didn't even know if his team realized that he wasn't behind them anymore, how long would it take for them to find him? Peter felt his heart ram against his ribcage, his breathing became more erratic and shallow. He was hyperventilating.

Peter shook his head, he needed to calm down. One thing that Yondu had always told him was that he had to stay calm, no matter what. When people freaked out is when people made mistakes. Peter could not afford to make a mistake right now. He took a few deep breaths and reassured himself; _I am going to be fine. My friends will find me. I'm okay, I will be okay_.

Peter managed to prop himself on his elbows, wincing as he did so, it was dark, really, really dark. He could hardly see his own body, but he could make out the blood that was pooling underneath his leg. _Shit. Shit. Shit._ Peter didn't know how much blood he could afford to lose, but his situation just became a lot more perilous. Peter leaned forward more, seething as a fiery pain shot up his entire leg. His fingers grasped one of the rocks that was on top of his legs. Peter pulled at the rock but the whole wall shook, and small rocks crumbled down. _Okay, don't touch the rocks. The whole wall can come crushing down_.

Gamora cleared the ruins, the rest of the Guardians right behind her. She turned around to face them, her smile melted from her face and turned into a frown. Peter wasn't there.

"Where's Peter?" She asked.

Drax looked around, "He was right behind me."

"I am Groot." Groot shrugged his shoulders.

Rocket nodded, taking a few deep breaths, "Yeah, I'm sure that he just fell behind. Give it a minute I'm sure he'll saunter up like he always does."

Gamora nodded once, looking at the crumbling ruins. She could not calm the nervous pit in her stomach. Something was wrong. She just knew it.

Peter was getting light headed. His eyes were having trouble staying open. He knew he couldn't fall asleep. Peter slipped his headphones over his ears and turned on his Walkman. Music filled his ears and he smiled weakly. He began to sing along softly, he needed to stay awake. He could not fall asleep.

"This is your fault Rocket!" Drax growled.

"My fault? How is Quill getting lost my fault?" Rocket shouted back.

"You always make bombs! You always put others in danger!" Draw snapped.

"I am Groot!"

"Groot's right, guys, fighting is not going to help Peter. Something bad has happened. We need to go back and look for him." Gamora stated in a calm voice, stepping in between the fighting friends. "Here's what's going to happen. We are going to go back and look for Peter. Together."

His Walkman died. Peter frowned to himself and slid his headphones off his ears. He sat up again and looked down at his leg. The blood pool had gotten larger, at the sight of the blood Peter's stomach lurched. He was aware of the sweat that ran down his face and he had begun to shake. He didn't know how long he had been here but he knew that he couldn't last much longer. He hoped that his friends were almost here. He needed them now more than ever.

Suddenly he heard a small voice on the other side of the wall, and then another after that. "Gamora! Gamora, please! I'm over here!" He yelled as loud as he could.

"Peter? Peter! Where are you?" Gamora's voice was muffled but it was definitely her voice.

"Behind the rocks!" Peter yelled again.

Gamora ran over to the wall of rocks. She placed her hand one the rocks. "Peter? Peter? Are you okay?"

"Just…peachy." She heard Peter answer. She smiled slightly, and turned to face Drax.

"Let's move these rocks." Drax nodded and they began to carefully remove some of the rocks.

"B-be careful! Move one rock at the wrong time the whole thing can come down!" Peter warned. Groot extended his legs and began to move away some of the rocks from the top of the wall. Rocket clawed at the dirt below and started to make a tunnel to get to the other side of the wall.

"Peter? Peter are you still okay?" Gamora asked as she set down another rock. Her frown deepened when Peter didn't respond. "Peter? Peter can you hear me?" Everyone stopped what they were doing, suddenly extremely worried for their friend. "C'mon guys! We need to clear this wall!"

The pace picked up and the Guardians worked tirelessly. Rocket finally cleared a hole big enough for him to squeeze through. He came up on the other side and gasped.

"Gamora! Gamora! His leg is trapped underneath! There is so much blood, h-he's unconscious." Rocket scurried over to Peter and got on top of his chest. Rocket gently patted Peter's face, "C'mon Quill, c'mon wake up." Rocket noticed that his friend's skin was pale and his hair stuck to his face because of the sweat that glistened on his skin.

Peter groaned and his eyes slightly opened, "Rocket?" Peter mumbled.

"Yeah, Quill it's me. Just stay awake okay? S-stay with me." Rocket stated.

"S-so tired." Peter muttered, his eyes closing again.

"No! No! Peter, c'mon man stay awake." Rocket looked down at his friend and saw that Peter had fallen unconscious again. "Guys! You need to hurry!" Rocket shouted. Rocket cursed and looked down at Peter's leg. It did not look good. Groot, Drax and Gamora finally moved enough of the rocks so that they could see Peter.

That only made them work harder. Within the next five minutes they cleared the wall and Drax moved the rocks that were on Peter's leg. Gamora raised a hand to her mouth when she saw the injury. Sure, she had seen injuries all the time. But nothing this bad. Peter's foot was twisted in an unnatural angle and blood poured for a large gash on his shin.

"We need to get him to a hospital!" Gamora stated, "Groot can you carry him to the ship?"

"I am Groot!" Groot nodded and gently lifted Peter off the ground. Peter groaned in pain and hung limply from Groot's arms. The Guardians ran the entire way to the Milano, once on the ship Groot gingerly laid Peter on his bed, Gamora started the ship and put the ship on auto-pilot towards Xandar. Xandar was a two hour flight away. Gamora rushed to Peter's room where the rest of the Guardians were surrounding the bed.

"Drax go get me some clean towels, and a bucket of warm water. Groot can you go fetch me the first aid kit? And Rocket?" Gamora paused at the sight of her furry friend. His ears were pulled back and she could swear she saw tears in his eyes.

"This is my fault. He is always telling me to stop making bombs." Rocket muttered. "Why didn't I listen?"

Drax and Groot left to retrieve the supplies Gamora asked for, Gamora pulled out a small knife and started to cut away the pant leg on Peter's leg. Peter groaned when Gamora had to peel away the fabric away from the gash. "This is not your fault Rocket. Self-pity is not what is going to help Peter now."

Rocket's ears flattened more at Gamora's harsh words, but she was right. He needed to be strong, for Peter's sake. Drax and Groot returned with the supplies and Gamora got started. Gamora was thankful that Peter was unconscious when she pulled off his boot, because she was certain that it would have been painful for him. She cleaned and wrapped the leg wound to the best of her ability and straightened out Peter's ankle. When she was done, her hands were covered in blood and Peter's bed sheets looked like something out of a horror movie.

"Will Quill be alright Gamora?" Drax asked.

Gamora took a deep breath, "Hopefully. We are almost to Xandar. They will be able to help him more there."

After the Guardians had landed, the doctors had already been waiting and rushed Peter into emergency surgery. The friends sat in the waiting room for over ten hours. Rocket was becoming anxious. He hated hospitals, they reminded him of painful memories. Gamora had taken to pacing in front of the large window, she hated to admit it but she was scared. What would happen if Peter didn't make it?

"You're Mr. Quill's family, yes?" A doctor asked.

"Yes!" They answered at once, of course mixed with an "I am Groot!"

"Is Peter okay?" Gamora asked.

The doctor nodded, "We were able to repair his leg, and he lost a substantial amount of blood. He has a mild concussion and a few cuts and bruises but we do believe he will make a full recovery."

They all smiled, Peter was going to be okay. "May we go see him?" Gamora questioned.

The doctor smiled, "Yes, but please keep it down. Mr. Quill needs his rest."

The Guardians nearly ran to Peter's room, when they reached the door they all entered in quietly. Peter was hooked up to several machines and his left leg was in a cast and raised slightly in the air. Peter was awake, but just barely. He smiled weakly, "Hey guys."

"I am Groot!" Groot smiled.

"I am happy you are well Quill." Drax grinned.

Gamora sat down in a chair next to the bed, "How are you feeling Peter?"

Peter grinned again, "I am so drugged up right now I can't feel a thing."

Gamora laughed slightly, "Well I am glad. You scared us half to death."

"You all needed a little but more excitement in your lives anyways." Peter laughed, but then grimaced at the slight twinge of pain that the movement had caused.

Rocket climbed up the bed and sat on the opposite side of Peter, "I am so sorry Peter. I didn't know that the bomb was going to go off."

Peter frowned, "I don't blame you Rocket. You're my friend."

Peter's eyes began to fall again and soon he fell back asleep. Gamora smiled and patted Peter's hand gently. Her family was still together. And she could only hope that it would stay like that.


End file.
